Biblical Land of Samaria

Someone sent me to a book called Cities of the Biblical World: An Introduction to the Archaeology, Geography, and History of Biblical Sites by LaMoine F. DeVries. It is found here https://www.amazon.com/Cities-Biblical-World-Lamoine-Devries/dp/1565631455 Logos Bible Software does not carry the book. I read the 2 pages I could get from Google Books and Amazon. I would like to know if there is anything comparable to this study in Logos. Does anyone have any thoughts as to good sources on the topic? I did a basic search and got 1421 hits in Logos and over 6000 hits in Google Books. I am looking for credible, academic and scholarly works.

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Dave Hooton

I did a basic search and got 1421 hits in Logos and over 6000 hits in Google Books

What was your Search?

I tried heading:Bibliography BEFORE ((Archaeology OR Geography OR History) WITHIN 10 WORDS Samaria) for sources (use Match all forms).

DMB

https://www.logos.com/product/268597/the-essential-archaeological-guide-to-bible-lands-uncovering-biblical-sites-of-the-ancient-near-east-and-mediterranean-world

Rosie Perera

Someone sent me to a book called Cities of the Biblical World: An Introduction to the Archaeology, Geography, and History of Biblical Sites by LaMoine F. DeVries. It is found here https://www.amazon.com/Cities-Biblical-World-Lamoine-Devries/dp/1565631455 Logos Bible Software does not carry the book.

Looks like something Logos ought to carry. I have added a request for it.

VOTE HERE:

Cities of the Biblical World

Beloved Amodeo

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1301904#Comment_1301904

I own the excellent https://www.logos.com/product/49332/archaeology-of-the-land-of-the-bible?queryId=7cc083fcb0f3e0e812be08cc96ebe690

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1301893#Comment_1301893

My search was very similar Dave. I have a lot of books in my arsenal but I wanted to know what everyone else had or used for this kind of study. Thanks for the great books everyone. Hope to see more thoughts as well.

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1302034#Comment_1302034

I bought the book you suggested Beloved and DMB. I have also culled the shelves at my local public library. They had nothing but a few Bible dictionaries (Mercer, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Hastings Bible Dictionary and Catholic Bible Dictionary). I have also read these encyclopedias.

"Samaria" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 108.
Vailhé, Siméon (1912). "Samaria" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13.

These are some books I have in my library and am reading now.

Coggins, R. J.. Samaritans and Jews: The Origins of Samaritanism Reconsidered. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1975.

Parrot, André. Samaria, the Capital of the Kingdom of Israel. United Kingdom: SCM Press, 1958.

Anderson, R.T. and Giles, T., The Keepers, An Introduction to the History and Culture of the Samaritans. . Peabody: Hendrickson, 2002.

What else would you all read on the topic going deeper? I am trying to do more research on this topic within Johannine Studies. I know this is a bit incognizant and I am not trying to ask you all to do my research. I want book thoughts because I do not want to go out and buy unnecessary resources and then have lost my money.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1302118#Comment_1302118

Two comments.

1. Your book on the kingdom of Samaria ... it's hard to over-estimate the significance of Omri/Ahab vs Egypt (earlier, north of Israel!) and Assyria moving south of Israel ... basically who controls the commerce along the coast. There had to be considerable wealth collected. I'm currently reading: https://www.logos.com/product/6712/israel-in-the-biblical-period-institutions-festivals-ceremonies-rituals And the power needed to block the flow is impressive. Judah never could pull it off.

2. As you read John, don't make the mistake of seeing the Galillean group (Jesus, James, later, John) as 'Jerusalem' centered. And imagining a Samaritan significance.

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1302123#Comment_1302123

: https://www.logos.com/product/6712/israel-in-the-biblical-period-institutions-festivals-ceremonies-rituals

Looks like a good book but not directly related to my study of "John within Judaism". I remember that Jerusalem was built around two hills: the eastern one with the temple and the western one, now known as Mount Zion. Jerusalem expanded south to incorporate area beyond the Old City's current walls. In the first century C.E., the city grew northward, with Agrippa I, a Herodian dynasty member, building a wall that may have been 450 meters north of the existing wall. Greek and Roman architectural influences were clearly obvious.

2. As you read John, don't make the mistake of seeing the Galillean group (Jesus, James, later, John) as 'Jerusalem' centered. And imagining a Samaritan significance.

That is something I was doing unconsciously. Jerusalem was the Jewish center of the world in the New Testament period. How can I find out what religion/ethnicity Samaria was in the biblical era? I also want to peruse the demographic data of Samaria in this time period. I have asked Bard but did not get anything useful. I am analyzing weather John's use of the woman at the well scene could be seen "within Judaism."

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1302138#Comment_1302138

That is something I was doing unconsciously. Jerusalem was the Jewish center of the world in the New Testament period. How can I find out what religion/ethnicity Samaria was in the biblical era? I also want to peruse the demographic data of Samaria in this time period. I have asked Bard but did not get anything useful. I am analyzing weather John's use of the woman at the well scene could be seen "within Judaism."

No offense, but you may need to backtrack to the OT, and the mountain associated with the end-time ... Jesus sat on it, as he sadly saw the future of the opposite mountain. Also, I can't imagine the well-woman is 'within Judaism' (whatever that is). The account is really 'tight' (typical of John), suggesting significance, in and of itself.

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1302140#Comment_1302140

No offense taken. Are you referring to Megiddo? Megiddo is first mentioned in Joshua 12:21 as one of the cities of the “Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites” whose kings were defeated by Joshua.

I am doing a study similar to this one https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/what-does-it-mean-to-read-new-testament-texts-within-judaism/DDF4870F318FA0AED9333F6BE5F81B3B. I am looking at John's Gospel. Belief in Jesus as the Messiah was considered part of first-century Judaism, but by the fifth or sixth century, the limits had altered. Furthermore, by this time loyalty to Jesus had come to be regarded as outside of Jewish tradition. Resituating New Testament writings inside first- or second-century Judaism is a historical activity that may improve our understanding of what Judaism was like in the early decades CE, however these texts are typically associated with Christianity due to their inception and reception history. Paula Fredriksen's rhetorical yet innovative question is relevant in my study "Would the participants in this moment of the movement, whether they were Jews or Gentiles, think of Christianity as anything other than the true form of Judaism, or as the right way of reading the Jewish scriptures, or as the latest and best revelation from Israel's god in keeping with his ancient promises to his people?"

Paula Fredriksen, "Mandatory retirement: Ideas in the study of Christian origins whose time has come to go." Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 35, no. 2 (2006): 231-246. (page 235).

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1302142#Comment_1302142

Well, err .. Jesus didn't sit on Megiddo (a pass/city-state, by the way). Another clue: the mountain will split in two, I think north/south.

I like Fredriksen, but again, packaging Jesus in 'Judaism', is as bad as giving him blond hair. Best to read Jesus'reported words ... most often relative to pre-Judaism (the OT).

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1302147#Comment_1302147

Mount of Olives Zech 14:4. I think is what you are referring to above.

Judaism does not consider Jesus to be a prophet, the Messiah, or the Son of God. I am trying to get to the boundaries of Jesus and his orientation of Jewishness in the Gospel of John. I see the nature of Jewish identity in Greco-Roman antiquity as being abstract, tense and malleable. From what I read of yours above we cannot see John "within Judaism". It took a long time for Christianity to emerge as a distinct religion from Judaism.

The messiah is central to both Jewish and Christian belief systems. The very first prophesy in Genesis 3:15 refers to the salvation of the Jews and all humanity through the messiah. The Jewish-God covenant promised that the messiah would come from among the Jews. The Davidic covenant was another promise from God that the messiah would come via David's lineage. Everything from Genesis to Malachi revolves around the coming and protection of the messiah but it is pre-Judaism I agree with you on that section.

If we look at Jesus' lifetime and the many factions that were present at the time, I believe most scholars of this era in history would agree that Jesus was probably closer to the Pharisees than to any other Jewish group that we can identify at the time. We know this because many of Jesus' teachings seem highly pharisaic. The Pharisees were the ones who first proposed the idea of God as a loving parent. This comes from my reading of The Pharisees by Joseph Sievers (Editor), Amy-Jill Levine (Editor). We understand how important that was to Jesus' teaching. Another aspect of Jesus' teachings that resonates is the concept of holiness and how to live it out in daily life.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1302150#Comment_1302150

Ok ... last post (for me). See also Eze 11:23 Then, consider which prophet was the primary base for John's Apocalypse. I'm only pointing these out, because you seem to keep trying to package Jesus in labels ... where John (gospel) appears to be extracting him ... your subject.